A/N: Short again but contains some much needed Goku time.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

The Ties That Bind

5

It was nightfall by the time Erin and I left the mall. I dropped her off at her apartment and promised to text her if anything bad happened with Goku. The streets of my small town were quiet as usual, only interrupted by the rumbling of my car's engine. I lazily leaned my arm against the door as I drove back home and turned on the radio to keep from falling asleep. The close I got to my house the more aware I became of the lonely feeling beginning to recede, quickly being replaced by—

"You have a weird energy signature."

My eyes flew open and I nearly veered off the road into a ditch, but luckily Goku was expecting me to panic. He grabbed the steering wheel and righted the car which protected me from going headfirst through the windshield as I slammed on the brakes. He laughed as I panted in terror and trembled in the seat. I should've known he'd use his trick to show up out of nowhere. I swallowed hard and pushed my hair back away from my face as Goku released the steering wheel, smirking to himself.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" I hissed.

"What? Oh, no. You just overreacted a little. Couldn't you sense me coming? You're the only human I can pick out on this entire planet but I don't freak out when you're around."

"I'm still getting accustomed to you showing up out of nowhere."

Goku shrugged as I put the car back in drive and carried on down the street to my apartment. Of course he thought it was funny. In the event of an accident he could easily teleport away and leave me to become permanently molded into the steel of my car. My knuckles turned white as my grip tightened on the wheel and I bit the inside of my cheek. What a jerk. First he sleeps in my bed without asking permission, then he raids my fridge with his friends (I saw the damage before Erin and I left—it wasn't pretty) and to top it all off, he nearly kills me.

We parked outside my house and I gathered the few bags of odds and ends I bought at the mall. Goku hopped out, stuffing his hands deep in his pockets and looking up and down the street curiously. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt this time, which was better than the all-black ensemble he had been sporting before. It didn't make him blend in very well with the masses.

As we climbed the stairs Goku began whistling happily to a tune I couldn't pinpoint. My key crunched in the lock and I escorted him inside, soon flipping on the lights and greeting a very irritated Peter. The cat shirked my attempts to love him and went straight to Goku, swaying a bit to the whistling. I scowled when Goku scooped him up, nuzzling their cheeks together like they were old friends. Peter was always a bit distant; I chalked it up to him being a stray most his life. Ungrateful little bastard.

I stuck a donut between my teeth and walked to my bedroom with bags in hand, followed closely by Goku and Peter. He stood at the door with the cat in his arms while I unpacked my new clothes. It was nothing major, just a few blouses for work and two pairs of jeans. Peter's purring was so loud I could hear it clear across the room as I folded the clothes and put them in their appropriate drawers. The only time he purred for me was when I was dangling chicken or cheese in front of his face.

"So what if I get a boyfriend?" I asked without looking at Goku. "I don't think he'll be happy I'm more or less already attached."

"My wife isn't very happy, either. Of course she's never really happy with the things I do. First I go and die a few times, then I don't show up for Gohan's piano recitals, then I make him stop studying so he can train to help me save the world. If they can't trust you then they aren't worth it. Besides, Bulma's working on fixing this for both of us."

"I wouldn't be terribly enthused to find out my boyfriend is spending more time with some girl over me, regardless of why they have to do it."

It was way too late to address how and why Goku had died "a few times" and when he and Gohan had saved the world. More importantly, it didn't seem fair that I was trapped in our odd relationship while Goku could go about doing whatever he wanted. I had a job to tend to and Vic was finally hinting at asking me out on a date. There was no way I'd throw all that away for some guy I barely knew.

Goku set Peter on the floor and stepped into my room, shutting the door behind him. I didn't know if he could sense my energy spiking when my heart beat faster but I certainly hoped he couldn't. With every step he took toward me my pulse quickened until I had to physically step back or risk a heart attack. We looked at one another for a moment before Goku placed two fingers to his forehead. The weird trick. Great. That would give me enough time to get my feelings in order.

"I'm going to go somewhere far away," he said. "When I come back, tell me if anything happened."

"We've already established that we can't be apart for very long."

"I know, but I'm just curious to see what it's like now that we've met. Ready?"

I shrugged indifferently and turned back to arranging my clothes, expecting a cold feeling or something close to it. There was a whirring sound and Goku was gone.

A surprised gasp left my lips and I crumpled to the floor like someone had punched me in the stomach. I panted desperately and clawed at the sheets, struggling to right myself and start breathing again. My lungs wouldn't work; it kind of felt like the asthma attacks I used to have as a kid. Even as I fought to breathe I could feel him coming back. I heard the whirring and coughed as Goku reappeared beside me, immediately rubbing my back with one of his huge hands.

"Jesus Christ," I managed, "that was actually really painful."

Out of my peripheral vision I noticed that Goku was shaking just as much as me. He was trying to keep his hand from twitching on my back but it was too obvious to hide. When he said we were "burned" by on another he really wasn't kidding. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was going on, like some cosmic power had deliberately bound us together for its own purposes.

As I regained my strength I could feel my heart starting to pound again so I dragged myself up on the bed to be away from Goku. He knelt before me, keeping both grey eyes focused intently on my own. As usual he was looking for answers I didn't hold. Heat flooded my face and I quickly turned away to adjust one of the pillows before he could see and comment on it.

"I've been married for a long time," Goku said.

Something in his facial expression made me worry.

"Nice," I said.

"I have two sons and one is your age."

"Also nice."

"So that makes me twice your age."

"Even nicer," I said sarcastically.

Goku moved closer, placing his hands on either side of my hips so he was kneeling between my legs. Our faces were only a few inches apart and I was out of breath once again.

"Does that bother you?" he asked. "You haven't asked me many questions. I know I look a little too young to be in my forties."

"I'm saving them for later. The last few days have been stressful enough." It was so true. I wanted to know how the hell he still looked to be in his mid-twenties.

A smile twinged his lips and he cocked his head. "Did you know your energy spikes when you're feeling an intense emotion? Usually I can't separate it but with you it's pretty easy. Right now you're very nervous and I think I know why."

"Well I have a lot to do at work tomorrow. Perhaps you should visit your wife while I'm busy during the day."

Goku suddenly pulled himself up on top of me, making me lie back to keep our bodies as far apart as possible. Now my heart was really racing and my eyes were wide open, staring at him to see what he would do next. It had been a long time since I had sex if that was what he wanted but I wasn't about to say no. Or should I? I really didn't want to because… well, he was married and could be carrying some sort of crazy disease. It could all be an elaborate scheme.

Deliverance came in the form of a text. My phone started vibrating furiously on the nightstand and it snapped Goku out of whatever trance he was in. He rubbed his head and rolled off me so I could sit up and grab the phone, swiftly typing out a thank you to Erin for her late-night messages. When I turned back Goku still looked disoriented but he appeared to be otherwise back to normal. I excused myself to the bathroom and left him behind, making sure the door was shut and locked behind me.

If he used his little trick to come inside I'd knock him out with the shower head.